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Panel to Address Marriage Equality Oct. 16

A panel will discuss the long and difficult pursuit in America of gender-related rights, including marriage equality, on Wednesday, Oct. 16, at SUNY Cortland.

The program “The Journey to Equality,” which represents the inaugural event in the College’s Louis Larson Lecture and Performance Series, begins at 7 p.m. in the Corey Union Exhibition Lounge.

Organized by the College’s LGBTQ Faculty and Staff Committee, the presentation will feature panelists addressing the historical and legal ramifications of marriage equality.

In their campaign for marriage equality, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community seeks access to the same legal rights as others conveyed by marriage, including a right most people take for granted, which is to marry.

Louis Larson

The speakers will include the annual lecture’s namesake, Louis Larson, associate director emeritus of career services at SUNY Cortland. Also presenting will be Barrie Gewanter, who directs the local New York Civil Liberties Union Chapter; and Jason Hungerford and Mariette Geldenhuys, client and lawyer respectively, nine years ago when Hungerford sued Tompkins County for marriage equality.

The talk is free and open to the public. The ongoing series is intended to educate and support individuals in the campus and local LGBT communities and their allies.

Future lectures — geared to help foster and promote diversity and mutual respect — will include guest speakers, panel talks and performances from professionals in the LGBT community.

The series is sponsored by the campus Center for Gender and Intercultural Studies and a grant from Auxiliary Services Corporation (ASC). Special thanks to Health Educator Catherine Smith and the Student Development Center for assisting this year in allowing the inaugural event to be hosted through the College’s Wellness Wednesday series.

The series honors Larson, who served SUNY Cortland’s Career Services for 23 years and retired in 2010. In June of that year, he was honored with the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service, recognizing his extensive record of professional service to the institution and beyond.

Larson joined the staff in 1987 as assistant director of career services and later was promoted to associate director. Characterized by his colleagues as an “ambassador for SUNY Cortland,” he is known for his unique ability to deliver information in a meaningful and engaging way. A charismatic and skilled speaker, Larson is often invited to classrooms to speak.

For more information, contact committee co-chairs Vicki Wilkins at 607-753-4972 or Kathryn Coffey at 607-753-2974.